Threshold view

ABSTRACT

The description relates to threshold views. One example can include a display, storage and a processor. The storage can store instructions for execution by the processor. The processor can be configured to process the instructions to create a graphical user interface (GUI) on the display. The GUI can include a threshold view that shows elements that relate to a family on a given day. The elements can include time bound elements, semi-time bound elements and non-time bound elements.

BACKGROUND

Today calendars display information that is designed for a classicdesktop that has a one-size-fits-all model for representing the data.This makes it hard to see what's going on if there are only a few items,and even harder when trying to view the calendar from greater thannormal distances, such as across the room.

SUMMARY

The described concepts relate to threshold views. One example canreceive a user instruction to display a threshold view relating to anindividual day. This example can scale events associated with theindividual day to allow the events to be presented on a display of adevice on which a user entered the user instructions. The example canalso generate the threshold view for the individual day with the scaledevents. The example can also surface real-time information aboutindividual events relating to the individual day of the threshold view.

Another example can include a display, storage, and a processor. Thestorage can store instructions for execution by the processor. Theprocessor can be configured to process the instructions to create agraphical user interface (GUI) on the display. The GUI can include athreshold view that shows elements that relate to a family on a givenday. The elements can include time bound elements, semi-time boundelements, and non-time bound elements.

The above listed examples are intended to provide a quick reference toaid the reader and are not intended to define the scope of the conceptsdescribed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate implementations of the conceptsconveyed in the present document. Features of the illustratedimplementations can be more readily understood by reference to thefollowing description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings. Like reference numbers in the various drawings are usedwherever feasible to indicate like elements. Further, the left-mostnumeral of each reference number conveys the figure and associateddiscussion where the reference number is first introduced.

FIGS. 1-2 illustrate scenarios involving examples of threshold views inaccordance with some implementations of the present concepts.

FIGS. 3 and 19 illustrate examples of systems upon which threshold viewfunctionalities can be accomplished in accordance with someimplementations of the present concepts.

FIGS. 4-18 show examples of threshold views in accordance with someimplementations of the present concepts.

FIGS. 20-21 are flowcharts of threshold view methods that can beaccomplished in accordance with some implementations of the presentconcepts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Overview

This patent relates to presenting useful event information to users. Athreshold view can be employed to present the useful event information.The threshold view can show useful event information for a given day orother time period. The threshold view can be configured to relate to agroup of users, such as a family. The threshold view can be a singleview that shows events for the day that are useful to individual familymembers and/or the family as a whole. The event information can be‘useful’ in that it enables the users to go about their day with lesschaos and/or more enjoyment. The threshold view can be configured totake advantage of available display area to enhance the viewingexperience on whatever display device is utilized. Accordingly, from oneperspective, the threshold view can be thought of as providing an‘optimized view of your day’ to the group of users.

First Scenario Examples

For purposes of explanation consider FIG. 1 which shows a first scenario100 employing an example threshold view 102. The threshold view canrelate to a group of people, such as a family, roommates, etc., thathave an interest in some events. For purposes of explanation, assumethat the family utilizes the threshold view first thing in the morningas they begin their day to help them know what they need to do. In thisexample, the family consists of a mother (mom), a father (dad), and ason.

In this case, the threshold view 102 is displayed on a screen or display104 of a monitor or TV 106. The monitor can function as a computerand/or be coupled to a computer (not shown). This example of thethreshold view presents various elements including three events 108. Theevents 108 include a “Vote” event 108(1), a “Haircut at 3:30” event108(2), and a “Dinner with Jane” event 108(3). An individual event canbe shown with an indicator 110 that identifies or indicates who theevent relates to. In this example, the indicators 110 are rectangles.Individual family members have a particular pattern in their respectiverectangle. Of course, this is only one type of indicator, otherindicators may utilize color, objects, avatars, and/or photographs,among others, to identify an individual family member and to associatethat family member with an event.

For purposes of explanation, assume that indicator 110(1) identifies thefather, indicator 110(2) identifies the mother, and indicator 110(3)identifies the son. Thus, the Vote event 108(1) relates to the parents(e.g., mother and father) as identified by indicators 110(1) and 110(2)and the Haircut at 3:30 event 108(2) relates to the son as identified byindicator 110(3). No indicator is associated with the Dinner with Janeevent 108(3). This could be because the Dinner with Jane event relatesto all of the family members and/or that the person who created theevent chose not to assign the event to anyone.

Threshold view 102 can differentiate events 108 which relate to aspecific time of day from events which occur at a general time of day(e.g., morning, afternoon, evening) and from those which are not timebound within the day. For example, the haircut event 108(2) occurs at aspecific time of day; in this case 3:30 P.M. This event 108(2) is shownwith a double underline to indicate that it occurs at a specific time(e.g., is bound to the specific time). This can be compared to thedinner with Jane event 108(3) which occurs in the evening rather than ata specific time. This event 108(3) is shown with a single underline toindicate that it occurs in the evening (e.g., at a fuzzy time orsemi-time bound). Further still, event 108(1) is shown without anyunderlining to indicate that it is not bound to a particular time withinthe day. In this case, the Vote event 108(1) is something that theparents want to accomplish during the day, but they can do it wheneveris convenient. Of course, other techniques can be utilized to indicatewhether individual events occur at a specific time, a fuzzy time, or arenot time specific.

Second Scenario Examples

FIG. 2 shows another scenario 200 that involves threshold view 102.Assume for purposes of explanation that the father introduced aboverelative to FIG. 1 leaves the house for work. He can see the thresholdview 102 on the display 204 of his smartphone 206. The threshold viewmay be reformatted to take advantage of the available space on display204 but can be similar to the threshold view of FIG. 1 so that it isreadily recognized by the father. Thus, the father can seamlesslytransition from the threshold view presented on the family's monitor tothe threshold view presented on his (e.g., the father's) smartphone 206.From glancing at the threshold view he knows that at any time during theday when he has a few free minutes he can go and vote. He also knowsthat he needs to pick up his son in time to get him to his haircut at3:30.

First System Examples

FIG. 3 shows a system 300 that includes resources 302 that cancontribute to the threshold view 102. In this case, the resourcesinclude family member resources 302(1), calendar resources 302(2), tasksresources 302(3), event metadata resources 302(4), media contentresources 302(5), language processing resources 302(6), and/or otherresources 302(N). Examples of other resources can include search engineresources, and monetization resources, among others.

The family member resources 302(1) can include who the family membersare and information about individual family members, such as how theywant to be identified on the threshold view 102.

The calendar resources 302(2) can include an electronic calendar thatstores individual family events that are either bound to a specific timeor a fuzzy time. In either case, in the calendar resources, the familyevent can be associated with a specific time on the calendar resource.The event metadata stored in the event metadata resources 302(4) caninclude a note that the event actually relates to a fuzzy time ratherthan a specific time. For example, the calendar resource can store a‘breakfast’ event at 6:00 A.M. The associated metadata in the metadataresource can indicate that the event can occur at any time in themorning, such as 5:00 A.M. to 10:00 A.M.

The tasks resource 302(3) can store non-time specific events (e.g.,events that relate to a given day, such as “anniversary” and/or eventsthat need to be accomplished on a given day, such as “pack for triptomorrow”.

The media content resources 302(5) can contain images, audio files,and/or documents that can be associated with the threshold view. Anytype of media that contributes to the user experience can be associatedwith the threshold view. For instance, audio, video, or still images,and/or documents, among others can be associated with the thresholdview. One such example is described below relative to FIG. 17.

The language processing resources 302(6) can include various types ofresources. For instance, the language processing resources can includean autocompletion algorithm to aid a family member in adding or editingan event relative to the threshold view. In another case, the languageprocessing resources can include natural language processing and/ornatural language generation (NLP/NLG) algorithms to analyze eventsand/or other content of the threshold view. Examples utilizing NLP/NLGalgorithms are described below relative to FIGS. 11 and 16.

Other resources can include any other resources that can be helpful tocreating and/or using a threshold view. Examples are described belowrelative to FIGS. 11 and 16.

Third Scenario Examples

FIGS. 4-17 collectively show how a family member can add an event to thethreshold view 102 and/or utilize the threshold view. In this case, thethreshold view 102 is manifest on a display 404 of a pad type device406. Stated another way, the threshold view can be thought of as agraphical user interface (GUI) presented on a portion or all of thedisplay 404.

In this example, the threshold view is showing “Today Dec. 5, 2012” asindicated at 410. There are no events scheduled for today as indicatedat 412. Indicating that no events are scheduled can avoid user confusionthat might occur in the alternative scenario where the user sees a blankscreen and might think that the threshold view is malfunctioning.

The user can view previous days by selecting “Past” as indicated at 414.Alternatively, the user can look at tomorrow (and subsequent futuredays) by selecting “Tomorrow” as indicated at 416. In otherimplementations, the user can simply scroll up to see future days andscroll down to see past days. Some implementations can also allow theuser to organize what time units are displayed on the threshold view.For instance, the user might want to see the threshold view cover thewhole weekend rather than a single day and then show work daysindividually. Assume in this case that the user wants to view thethreshold view for tomorrow and makes the selection as indicated at 418.In this example, the selection is made by touching the display. Otherimplementations can allow user selection through a mouse, trackpad,voice recognition, and/or gesture recognition.

FIG. 5 shows the threshold view 102 for “Tomorrow Dec. 6, 2012”generated responsive to the user selection described relative to FIG. 4.Assume for purposes of explanation that the user wants to add an eventto tomorrow's threshold view. As such, the user can select an add (e.g.,“+”) event option as indicated at 502.

FIG. 6 shows another example of threshold view 102. In this case, thethreshold view includes an add event window 602 that is generatedresponsive to the user action described above relative to FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 shows another view where the user adds content in the form of“Anniversary” to the add event window 602 as indicated at 702. Assumethat the user then selects a “Done” option 704.

FIG. 8 is another version of threshold view 102 generated responsive tothe user action of FIG. 7. In this case, the event “Anniversary” isadded to the threshold view as indicated at 802. The “Anniversary” eventcan be added to the threshold view in a manner that takes advantage ofthe available display area. For instance, a font size of the“Anniversary” text can be selected to be as large as possible whilestill fitting on one line of the threshold view, among other criteria.

In this case, based upon the user selections the Anniversary event isnot bound to a specific time or a fuzzy time on the threshold view.Further, the Anniversary event is not associated with particular familymembers. Such an instance can occur when the user simply wants areminder of something that occurs on that day and doesn't want toassociate the event with a particular time or family member sinceeveryone in the family will know the significance of the event and won'tneed further details. An alternative example is now described startingwith the user selecting the add event option 502 in FIG. 8.

FIG. 9 shows the threshold view 102 with the add event window 602generated responsive to the user selection relative to FIG. 8. In thiscase, the user adds “Baseball practice” in the add event window asindicated at 902. The user then selects a “More details” option 904.

FIG. 10 shows the threshold view 102 with additional fields that allowthe user to add “When:” details and “Where:” details 1002 and 1004,respectively. In this case, the user manually adds “9:00 A.M.” to the“When:” detail 1002 as indicated at 1006. Similarly, the user manuallyadds “Marymoor Park” to the “Where:” detail 1004 as indicated at 1008.The user can also click on the picture of the son as indicated at 1010to associate this event with the son (e.g., “Who:” detail). The user canadd more or different details by selecting the “More details” option1012. In this case, assume that the user has added the details that hewants and as such selects the “Done” option 1014.

FIG. 11 shows an alternative configuration of the threshold view 102described relative to FIGS. 9-10. In this case, the user adds content tothe add event window 602 as indicated at 1102. This content can beanalyzed with various algorithms, such as NLP/NLG algorithms tounderstand the user content. The results of the analyzing can beutilized to autopopulate the “When:” and “Where:” detail 1002 and 1004.Of course, this is just one example of how the user content can beanalyzed to make event creation easier for the user. In another example,the user might speak or type “Mike (e.g., the son) has baseball practicetomorrow morning at nine at Marymoor Park”. The user content can beanalyzed to autopopulate the event. Further still, the analyzing mayinclude accessing other events, such as the family's previous events andutilizing this information to aid in completing the event. For instance,as the user spoke “Mike has baseball practice tomorrow morning . . . ”.The analysis may indicate that Mike's morning practices have previouslybeen at 9:00 A.M. at Marymoor Park. This information can beautosuggested and/or autopopulated into the event details even beforethe user finishes the sentence. Thus, ease of use for creating events onthe threshold view can further encourage users to utilize the thresholdview.

FIG. 12 shows the threshold view 102 responsive to the actions describedrelative to either of FIG. 10 or 11 to add the baseball practice event1202 “Baseball practice at 9 at Marymoor Park”. In this example, thefont size is reduced in order to keep the baseball practice event on oneline (compare FIG. 8 to FIG. 12). In another implementation, the eventmay be populated on multiple lines to allow a larger font size to beutilized.

FIG. 13 shows an alternative version of threshold view 102 compared toFIG. 12. In this case, the baseball practice event 1202 is displayed inabridged form (e.g., displayed as “Baseball practice” rather than“Baseball practice at 9 at Marymoor Park”). This configuration can allowa larger font size to be employed for the events of the threshold view102 (compare FIG. 13 to FIG. 12). In this case, the user can select thebaseball practice event 1202 to see more about the event. Assume forpurposes of explanation that the user selects the baseball practiceevent of FIG. 13.

FIG. 14 shows the threshold view 102 responsive to the user selection ofFIG. 13. In this case, additional details about the baseball practiceevent 1202 are shown proximate to the event at 1402. These additionaldetails can be displayed for a period of time and then removed or fadedfrom view. The details can of course be handled in other ways that arenot illustrated.

FIG. 15 shows a subsequent instance of the threshold view 102. In thiscase, assume that the users have added three more events: a “Familylunch at the park” event 1502, a “Sitter” event 1504, and a “Dinner”event 1506. Once again the events are formatted to take advantage of theavailable display area. In some implementations, the formatting caninclude scaling the events based upon a number of events and/or a lengthof individual events. One technique for taking advantage of theavailable display area can entail selecting the largest font of a set offonts. The events can then be evaluated to determine if they takeadvantage of the available display area at that font size. For instance,can each of the events be displayed on a single line in the display areaat that font size and/or can all events fit on the threshold view atthat font size? If so, the threshold view can utilize that font size forthe events. If not, a next smaller font size can be selected and theevaluation can be repeated. Recall that an alternative configuration wasdiscussed above relative to FIGS. 12-14 where the amount of textdisplayed for an event was abridged to allow a larger font size to beused in the threshold view.

Note also that the threshold view 102 can offer additional features toaid the user. For example, the user can select any of the events toaccess additional functionality. Assume in this case that the userselects the Anniversary event in FIG. 15.

FIG. 16 shows an option window 1602 generated responsive to the useraction of FIG. 15. In this case, the option window includes a “Details”option, a “Search for Gift” option and a “Other options” option. In someconfigurations, the options window could be static or preconfigured forall events. In other implementations, the options listed in the optionswindow can be ‘smart’ options. For instance, the event (e.g.,“Anniversary”) could be used as a search query to determine that usersoften search for anniversary gifts. The search for anniversary giftsoption can then be populated in the options window for the user'sconvenience. Further, information from the resources described relativeto FIG. 3 could be utilized to search automatically for gifts. Forinstance, the resources could identify how long the parents have beenmarried, where they tend to shop, what they tend to buy, theirbirthstones, etc.

This information could then be utilized in conjunction with otherresource information relating to what other people tend to buy foranniversary gifts. This combined information could be utilized toprovide a customized search for the user. Of course, this is but oneexample of how resources that are specific to the user (e.g., theiremail history, text history, shopping history, location, personal data(e.g., birthdate), among others) can be utilized in combination withinformation available on the internet (e.g., birthstones by month) toaid the user on the threshold view. Of course, user privacy can beprotected and/or maintained while providing such features. For instance,the user may be requested to authorize the use of their personalinformation prior to commencement of such use.

FIG. 17 shows the threshold view 102 at a subsequent point where theuser has added media that relates to the family and/or the events. Inthis case the media is a picture of flowers as indicated at 1702. Forexample, assume that the husband sees the anniversary event and finds apicture of his wife's favorite flowers and adds them to the thresholdview. Adding the picture can be easily accomplished. For example, theuser can drag the image from another graphical window into the thresholdview 102. Alternatively, the user can copy and paste the image into thethreshold view. Of course other options for adding the media to thethreshold view can be supported. Further, some implementations cananalyze the events and suggest media that might be enjoyable to thefamily. For instance, for a “concert” event, music from the performermay be located and suggested for the user. Similarly, if the event is“movie night”, movie trailers could be suggested for and/or populatedinto the threshold view. In still other cases, the user may make a list(such as a grocery store list) and drag it into the threshold view nextto an event “shopping”.

In another case, where the family has engaged in similar events in thepast, images from the previous events may be identified and suggestedfor and/or populated to the threshold view. For example, if an event is“Day at the beach”, the threshold view can be populated with images fromthe last time the family went to the beach. The images can be obtainedfrom resources associated with the family or family members. Forexample, the family's ‘photos folder’ can be accessed to obtain theimages.

FIG. 18 shows another version of the threshold view generated the nextmorning. Assume in this case that each of the family members (e.g., mom,dad, and son) has a smartphone and that they have previously givenpermission for the threshold view to utilize their personal locationinformation as supplied by their respective smart phones. Assume furtherthat the location information indicates that each family member iscurrently at home. In this case, the threshold view includes a smartreminder 1802 relative to the Baseball practice event 1202 that says,“Current traffic conditions indicate you need to leave the house in 15minutes.” Thus, this smart reminder is produced from real-time locationdata, mapping data, and traffic data. The smart reminder also states,“Don't forget your mitt!”. This information can be obtained from NLP/NLGanalysis of the event and resource information, such as texts aboutprevious baseball practices. Of course, other types of smart reminderscan also be generated for the threshold view.

In summary, the threshold view can surface various additionalinformation that may be of interest to the family members. Theadditional information can include real-time information, such aslocation-based information, search results, weather conditions, trafficconditions, etc. Further, the surfaced information may include detailsobtained by analyzing the event and/or other information from or aboutthe user (e.g., that the user needs his mitt at baseball practice).

Second System Examples

FIG. 19 shows system 1900 that can enable the threshold view conceptsdescribed above. In this example, the system 1900 includes severaldevices 1906 which can be similar to devices 106, 206 and/or 406described above. In this case, the devices 1906 are manifest as asmartphone type computer 1906(1), a pad type computer 1906(2), anotebook type computer 1906(3), and a set of cloud-based server typecomputers 1906(4). (In this discussion, the use of a designator with thesuffix, such as “(1)”, is intended to refer to a specific deviceinstance. In contrast, use of the designator without a suffix isintended to be generic). Of course, not all device implementations canbe illustrated and other device implementations should be apparent tothe skilled artisan from the description above and below.

The devices 1906 can communicate over one or more networks 1908(represented by ‘lightning bolts’). The devices can also communicatewith resources 302. Examples of resources 302(1)-302(N) are describedabove relative to FIG. 3. In some cases, the present concepts can beimplemented by an individual device 1906 acting in isolation. In othercases, a device can implement the present concepts by operatingcooperatively with one or more other devices and/or the resources 302.These variations are described in more detail below.

Devices 1906 can include several elements which are defined below. Forexample, these devices can include a processor 1910, storage/memory1912, and/or a threshold view component 1914. The devices canalternatively or additionally include other elements, such asinput/output devices (e.g., touch, voice, and/or gesture), buses,graphics cards, Wi-Fi circuitry, cellular circuitry, positionalcircuitry (absolute location (e.g., GPS) and/or relative location (e.g.,accelerometers, magnetometers, among others) etc., which are notillustrated or discussed here for sake of brevity.

The term “device”, “computer”, or “computing device” as used herein canmean any type of device that has some amount of processing capabilityand/or storage capability. Processing capability can be provided by oneor more processors (such as processor 1910) that can execute data in theform of computer-readable instructions to provide a functionality. Data,such as computer-readable instructions, can be stored on storage, suchas storage/memory 1912 that can be internal or external to the computer.The storage can include any one or more of volatile or non-volatilememory, hard drives, flash storage devices, and/or optical storagedevices (e.g., CDs, DVDs, etc.), among others. As used herein, the term“computer-readable media” can include signals. In contrast, the term“computer-readable storage media” excludes signals. Computer-readablestorage medium/media includes “computer-readable storage devices.”Examples of computer-readable storage devices include volatile storagemedia, such as RAM, and non-volatile storage media, such as hard drives,optical discs, and flash memory, among others.

Examples of devices can include traditional computing devices, such aspersonal computers, desktop computers, notebook computers, cell phones,smart phones, personal digital assistants, pad type computers, mobilecomputers, cameras, or any of a myriad of ever-evolving or yet to bedeveloped types of computing devices. A mobile computer can be any typeof computing device that is readily transported by a user and has aself-contained power source (e.g., battery).

In the illustrated implementation devices 1906 are configured with ageneral purpose processor 1910 and storage/memory 1912. In someconfigurations, a device can include a system on a chip (SOC) typedesign. In such a case, functionality provided by the device can beintegrated on a single SOC or multiple coupled SOCs. One or moreprocessors can be configured to coordinate with shared resources, suchas memory, storage, etc., and/or one or more dedicated resources, suchas hardware blocks configured to perform certain specific functionality.Thus, the term “processor” as used herein can also refer to centralprocessing units (CPU), graphical processing units (CPUs), controllers,microcontrollers, processor cores, or other types of processing devicessuitable for implementation both in conventional computing architecturesas well as SOC designs.

In some configurations, the threshold view component 1914 can beinstalled as hardware, firmware, or software during manufacture of thedevice 1906 or by an intermediary that prepares the device for sale tothe end user. In other instances, the end user may install the thresholdview component 1914, such as in the form of a downloadable application.

In some configurations, individual devices 1906 can include robustthreshold view components. Such a device can operate independently togenerate the threshold view. For instance, notebook computer 1906(3)could include a self-contained threshold view component that generatesthe threshold view utilizing resources 302, with or without othercomputers. In another configuration, a set of computers belonging to afamily could each include threshold view components. Any changes to thethreshold view on one computer can be communicated to the othercomputers (e.g., the computers can synchronize their threshold viewdata). In other cases, the threshold view for the family may becoordinated from a central point, such as a cloud-based application orservice and the individual devices can update to and from thecloud-based application. Such a configuration can lend itself toallowing individual devices to have less robust or thin threshold viewcomponents where a majority of the functionality is performed by otherdevices, such as cloud based devices, for presentation on the thindevice. In some cases, the local device can provide a web-view ofcontent generated remotely, such as by the cloud based devices.

Stated another way, in some implementations, an individual device, suchas device 1906(1) may have a less robust instance of the threshold viewcomponent 1914(1) such that some or all of the functionality provided bythe threshold view component 1914(1) is performed remotely, such as atcloud-based device 1906(4) and communicated back to device 1906(1) forpresentation to the user. Further, the threshold view component mayinclude individual resources 302 or access individual remote resources.For example, the threshold view component may include a NLP/NLG resourceor may access a remote NLP/NLG resource.

The threshold view component 1914 can be a freestanding application orthe threshold view component can be an element of a contact managementapplication or a calendaring application, among others. Examples ofcontact management applications can include Outlook® from Microsoft®Corporation, Apple Contacts™ and/or Google Gmail™.

The threshold view component 1914 can facilitate setting up thethreshold view. In one case, an individual family member, such as afamily member having a user account can set up the threshold view andadd the user accounts of the other family members. The individualcalendars of the family members can then be accessed by the thresholdview application. Each user could then access the threshold view andadd, edit, and/or delete events from their user accounts. Such aconfiguration can then make an event log of events relating to thethreshold view. The event log can show who created an individual eventand when. The log can also show if the event was edited or deleted, bywhom and when.

Other implementations can be configured to accommodate the fact thatchildren (or others) may or may not have user accounts, but can beincluded in the threshold view. To accommodate these circumstances, aless formal approach can be employed. For example, a user, such as auser that has a user account, can set up the threshold view for a familyand add the family members. Any of the family members can then view thethreshold view and add, edit, and/or delete events. An event log can bemaintained in such a configuration, but in some cases the event log maycontain less information than in the more formal configuration describedabove. For instance, the event log can show when an event was created,edited, and/or deleted, but it may not always be clear who made thechanges. For example, recall that in the scenario of FIG. 1, thethreshold view was displayed on a family device (e.g. monitor 106). Insuch a configuration, in order to enhance ease of use, any family membercan make changes to the threshold view without changing users or otherformalities. Thus, the event log may not indicate who made the change,but the event log can indicate that a change was made and when.

Of course, even with an informal configuration, changes made through anindividual device (e.g. dedicated device), such as individual user'ssmart phone, can be associated with that user in the event log. Evenwith shared devices, some implementations can determine which familymember is changing the threshold view. For example, gesture recognitiontechnologies may be able to distinguish between individual familymembers. For instance, assume in one example, that the monitor of FIG. 1is connected to an entertainment console that includes gesturerecognition technologies. One such commercially available product is theXbox® Kinect® from Microsoft® Corp.

The entertainment console could generate the threshold view for displayon the monitor. The family member could control the threshold view bymaking gestures and/or speaking to the entertainment console. Theentertainment console could identify the family member based uponvarious parameters associated with their physical size, movements, etc.Alternatively or additionally, the entertainment console coulddistinguish the family member by analyzing their voice. This informationcan be added to the event log as the family member makes changes to thethreshold view. The information could also be utilized on the thresholdview. For instance, the dad might say, “I need to take the dog to thevet tomorrow.” Voice recognition technologies could capture thestatement as text and NLG/NLP technologies can be utilized to analyzethe statement and determine the intent. The analyzed intent can beutilized to populate the event on the threshold view. Voice analysistechnologies could be utilized to determine who the speaker is. Forinstance, the present speech could be compared to previous speechpatterns that are known to be from individual family members todetermine a match. As a result, the event can be automatically added tothe threshold view and the dad can automatically be identified as beingassociated with creation of the event. Of course, these and/or similartechnologies can be utilized on other types of computers.

First Method Example

FIG. 20 shows a flowchart of a method 2000 relating to threshold views.

The method can receive a user instruction to present (e.g., display) athreshold view relating to an individual day at 2002. In some cases, thereceiving can occur at a user device (e.g., a device that the user isengaging). In other cases, the receiving can entail the user devicesending the user information to another receiving device.

The method can scale events associated with the individual day to allowthe events to be presented on a screen or display of a device on which auser entered the user instruction at 2004. In some cases, the scalingcan entail applying a largest font size from a set of fonts to theevents associated with the individual day. In an instance where eachevent can be displayed on the display at the same time (e.g., all theevents fit on the display together), then the largest font size can beutilized. Otherwise, the process can be repeated with a next largestfont size until the events can be displayed at the same time.

Viewed from another perspective, one process can be thought of asincrementally decrementing through a range of font sizes until displayparameters are satisfied. For instance, the display parameters canrelate to displaying each individual event on a single line of thedisplay and/or fitting all of the scaled events on the display so thatall of the events can be viewed by the user at once.

The method can generate the threshold view for the individual day withthe scaled events at 2006. The generating can entail presenting thethreshold view on the device or sending the threshold view to the devicefor presentation.

The method can surface real-time information about individual eventsrelating to the individual day of the threshold view at 2008. In onecase, the surfacing real-time information can entail surfacing weatherinformation related to the individual events, surfacing traffic relatedinformation related to the individual events, or surfacing locationinformation related to the individual events, among others.

Second Method Example

FIG. 21 shows a flowchart of a method 2100 relating to threshold views.

The method can receive user input to generate an individual event on athreshold view associated with a family at 2102. The threshold view canbe manifest as a graphical user interface relating to a day thatdisplays events associated with that day. For example, the receivinguser input can entail receiving user text entry, user speech, and/or auser gesture.

The method can analyze the user input using natural language processingat 2104. In some cases the method can further analyze other user data.The results of the analyzed user input and the analyzed other user datacan be utilized to populate the event. Some examples of analyzing otheruser data can include analyzing other events on the threshold view,analyzing user accounts associated with the user, analyzing user emails,analyzing user texts, analyzing user search history, or analyzing userdocuments.

The method can populate details of the event based upon the user inputand results of the analyzing at 2106. Examples of such details caninclude the day, a time of the day, who the event is associated with, ora location of the event, among others.

The order in which the methods are described is not intended to beconstrued as a limitation, and any number of the described blocks can becombined in any order to implement the method, or an alternate method.Furthermore, the method can be implemented in any suitable hardware,software, firmware, or combination thereof, such that a computing devicecan implement the method. In one case, the method is stored oncomputer-readable storage medium/media as a set of instructions suchthat execution by a computing device causes the computing device toperform the method.

CONCLUSION

Although techniques, methods, devices, systems, etc., pertaining tothreshold views are described in language specific to structuralfeatures and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that thesubject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limitedto the specific features or acts described. Rather, the specificfeatures and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms of implementing theclaimed methods, devices, systems, etc.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method performed by one or moreprocessors, comprising: receiving a user instruction from a user topresent a threshold view associated with a family of the user;responsive to the user instruction, generating the threshold view to bepresented on a screen of a computing device on which the user enteredthe user instruction, wherein events associated with an individual dayare presented within the threshold view; and, responsive to the userinstruction, using resources to obtain personalized information about anindividual event to surface within the threshold view, the resourcesincluding natural language processing resources and search engineresources, the using the resources comprising: using the naturallanguage processing resources to perform an analysis of the individualevent, previous related events, and information resources that arespecific to the user and the family of the user, generating customizedevent information based on the analysis, wherein the customized eventinformation comprises a reminder derived from the analysis of theprevious related events and a contextual media item associated with atleast one of the previous related events and retrieved from theinformation resources, generating an internet search query that iscustomized for the user and the individual event and using the searchengine resources to obtain real-time information associated with theindividual event, wherein the real-time information comprises at leastone of location-based information, weather conditions, and trafficconditions, and, surfacing the personalized information about theindividual event, wherein the personalized information includes thegenerated customized event information and the obtained real-timeinformation.
 2. The method of claim 1, performed by the computingdevice.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the generating the thresholdview comprises providing an indication relative to an individual eventof the threshold view whether the individual event is a time boundevent, a semi-time bound event, or a non-time bound event.
 4. The methodof claim 1, performed by another computing device by communicating withthe computing device.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the surfacingthe personalized information about the individual event is performedwithout further input from the user beyond the user instruction topresent the threshold view relating to the individual day.
 6. The methodof claim 1, wherein the using the search engine resources comprisesaccessing traffic resources and a result of the internet search querycomprises the traffic conditions.
 7. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising scaling and abridging the events associated with theindividual day to allow the events to be presented at a different scaleand with a different amount of event information within anotherthreshold view on another screen of another computing device, theanother screen being a different size than the screen.
 8. A system,comprising: one or more processing devices; and a storage device storingcomputer-readable instructions which, when executed by the one or moreprocessing devices, cause the one or more processing devices to: createa graphical user interface (GUI) on a display, the GUI comprising athreshold view that shows elements that relate to a family, on a givenday, receive user input from a family member of the family and associatethe user input with an individual element of the threshold view, andresponsive to the user input, obtain personalized information about theindividual element to generate an updated GUI, the personalizedinformation obtained using resources, comprising: using natural languageprocessing resources to perform an analysis of the individual element,previous related elements, and information resources that are specificto the family, generating customized information based on the analysis,wherein the customized information comprises a reminder derived from theanalysis of the previous related elements and a contextual media itemassociated with at least one of the previous related elements andretrieved from the information resources, generating an internet searchquery that is customized for the family and the individual element usingsearch engine resources to obtain real-time information associated withthe individual element, wherein the real-time information comprises atleast one of location-based information, weather conditions, and trafficconditions, and surfacing the personalized information about theindividual element, wherein the personalized information includes thegenerated customized information and the obtained real-time information.9. The system of claim 8, wherein the individual element is shown on theGUI with an indication of whether the individual element is time bound,semi-time bound, or non-time bound.
 10. The system of claim 8, whereinthe computer-readable instructions further cause the one or moreprocessing devices to: scale the individual element based on a size ofthe GUI, lengths of the elements, and how many of the elements areshown.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the individual element isshown on the GUI with an indicator configured to indicate which familymember is associated with the individual element.
 12. The system ofclaim 10, wherein the threshold view further includes media that relatesto the family or to the individual element.
 13. The system of claim 10,wherein the elements are events.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein theuser input comprises a user gesture.
 15. The system of claim 8, embodiedon a single device.